GREEN BAY — First, the good news on the Green Bay Packers' injury front: Eddie Lacy was back practicing Monday, so the rookie running back has obviously been cleared for action after missing the team's pre-bye loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 22 after suffering a concussion the week before against Washington.

Now, the bad news: Despite a week off for the bye, outside linebacker Clay Matthews (hamstring), tight end Jermichael Finley (concussion), fullback John Kuhn (hamstring), running back James Starks (knee), cornerback Casey Hayward (hamstring) and special teams ace Jarrett Bush (hamstring) did not participate during the portion of practice open to reporters.

While it's possible some or all of those players could return to action Wednesday, when preparations for Sunday's game against Detroit begin in earnest, the Packers certainly didn't return from their bye in perfect health.

"My general sense is we improved (health-wise)," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after practice before once again refusing to give out much injury information, saying he would wait until the league requires him to do so on Wednesday. "We had a number of guys test today, (and) I haven't even visited with the training staff to see how the workouts went."

That said, McCarthy did like what he saw from Lacy, who suffered his concussion on his first and only carry against Washington. He was replaced by Starks, who rushed for 132 yards and had carried 14 times for 55 yards before suffering a knee injury against the Bengals.

"I thought Eddie practiced well today, so it was good to have him back out there," McCarthy said. "He's full go, and I think the week off definitely helped him."

Running back Johnathan Franklin, who was briefly sidelined against the Bengals — leaving the Packers with zero healthy running backs for a few snaps — with a foot injury, also practiced and said his foot was fine. Franklin carried 13 times for 103 yards but lost a fourth-and-1 fumble that was returned for the game-winning touchdown.

"I felt good; I was good to go," Franklin said of returning to the field after hurting his foot. "I'm excited to get better, yessir."

Delivering the latest and most important updates on the Green Bay Packers for your convenience.

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